Industry & OBH News

Self Publishers | Lending Rights Payments

February 21, 2017

Imagine if you could increase your author income without having to do anything more than you’ve done already? It almost sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? Well, keep reading to learn more about Lending Rights payments.

So what are lending right payments?

Public Lending Right (PLR) and Educational Lending Right (ELR) are Australian Government programs that compensate Australian creators and publishers in recognition of income lost through free multiple use of their books in public and educational lending libraries.

Who can apply?

Australian book publishers, authors, compilers, editors, illustrators and translators can register their books and make claims through the lending rights programs.

When to apply?

The closing date to submit title claims for the 2017–18 lending rights programs is 31 March 2017. Title claims for books published between 2011 and 2016 are now being accepted.

How much is the payment?

The payment is based on the number of copies of your book estimated to be held in relevant libraries. There needs to be a minimum of 50 copies for a payment to be made. The payment you receive per book may change from year to year but in 2014-15 it was $2.02 per book for creators.

What do you need to do?

You will need to register, as a creator or publisher, and apply through Lending Rights Online. You only need to register once for the programs. You will be automatically registered for both PLR and ELR.

You will also need to submit at least one title claim when you register. Your title claim identifies which book you want considered for a payment. You can select which program you want the book to be surveyed in when you submit a new title claim form. You can select both programs.

Once you’ve submitted your claim, that’s it. Your book will be included in the survey for the next two consecutive years, and more after that if it was found to be held in libraries in sufficient numbers. However, if a new edition is issued, with a new ISBN, you’ll need to submit a new claim.